Massage device



April 30, 1935. A. F.LUZZ'|. 1,999,939

MAS SAGE DEVICE Filed May 11, 1935 Patented Apr; 30, 1935 t nassaon August F. Falls, Tex.

sagflevice nd seek among other objects, m-

prov-lde a device of this character which may beeflectivcly used for massaging the human body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a massage'device winch-is 'of suchccnstruction that rolling, rotary,-or oscillating movement upon vide a massage device whe'rein a plurality roll crs are employed, whichrollers are arranged'on a number of axes disposed in relatively angular relation.

may be sold at an attractive figure."

And a still iurther object of the invention-is to provide a massage device whichwlll-veryefi factually manipulate the skin tissues so that the obtaining o1 acornplete'massage for a given area will bepossible;

Other-"objects of the invention, not specifically' mentioned in the foregoing, will -be-apparerit uponrcsding the Iollowing description, taken;- in

conjunction with theappendedclaims andthe' drawing;

thedrawing,r 3 4 1 is atop plan view of the massagede -through a group rollers employed,

=.Figure .4 is an. enlarged tragmentary sectional view-omthe line 4-4 oi Figure 2', and Figure- -5-,is: a fragmentary perspective view showing the construction oi the central. portion of one oi the roller supporting rods employed.

Referring now more particularly to the accom-r panying' drawing wherein like numerals: of refereence designate like? parts throughout the severalviews, the numeral l indicates the body oi my 1 improved device. The body is formed-from sheet metal and is substantially hemisphericalin cross opposite end portions otthe body I are turned inv wardly and upon themselves to define-loops 2 and 3, Connecting the lower edges .ot theloops use 3 is a. brace l which is substantially ,U-

shaped in vertical section and is provided with upwardly and. inwardly-disposed end portions 5 7 application 1 1', 1933; Serial no. 616,578

r (cr es-st) This invention relates to an improved and 6. The-brace is formed from a strip of'hea'vy 1 metal and will prevent the body from being inutilated, that is to say, the brace retains the body H in its-hemispherical shape. Extending through the end portions '5 and 6 of the brace I are bolts 1 and- 8. By referring to Figure '2- of the drawing, will be seen that the bolts-1 and 8 extend not only through the portions 5- and 6 but also through the wall; of the body and through the free end portions of the loops 2 and 3. Said bolts, therefore, serve rigidly to connect the brace with the body and also'to connect the free end portions I I r ofthe loops with the body beneath the brace-1 A sen-runn r object of the "invention is to provide a device of-this character which durable, whichmay'be easily applied, and which It be seen that the body' and brace will be very firmly secured; to eachother with the consequent result that reinforcement torthe' entire matter; I

Mounted on the body l at'its'relatively wide central portion. and. extending at right angles to the. length of the body lander the brace 4,. is

a handle bar 8 and, as best seen in Figure 1 or. the drawing", the handle bar is enlarged at both ends to define handles in and H which are adapted for manual engagement. The bar 9 is formed of: wood, or other suitable material; and

the handles are of sufficient length to permit ready grasping. :of the device. Connecting the handle to the centrally thereof, is an upwardly' extending bolt- I2 which is provided. a hexagonal nut l3 at its upper end. Surround ingthe cerrtral portion of the bar '9 and extending throughoatthe major portion of the widthof the body in overlying relation. to said: bar is alnverbed hemispherical plate M.

. The plate. is preferably intended: for use as a name plate, and: suitable indi'cia maybe inscribed thereon. However, the plate"- M may-also serveto protect thev central portion of the bar 9 andalso to cooperate with the nut l3 and. bolt t! or rigidly conwecting the bar with the as" v .Strucknp from the body I, at its enlarged.

portion. and near the edges thereof in lateral alinement with each other and with the bolt? I12;

are tongues 15 which are adapted to project ito the bars cooperate: with the bolt for preventing rotative movement'of the bar: onthe body.. f

Mountecl on the body -I-- and extending through the loops :2 and 3- are roller mounting rods which are indicated inigeneral by the: numerals lit and In'asmuchas the rods are of substantially identical construction, a description of one will rod is a locking lip 20 and, as best seen in Figure 2 of the drawing, the locking lip is adapted to be disposed upwardly within one of theloop'sf 2 and 3 of the body ,so that axial rotation of the rod within the loop will be prevented. It will; therefore, be seen that the roller-parrying portions will always be presented in the same direction. The rod carried on the opposite end of r the body is, as beforev stated, of identical con struction to the above described rod with the exception that the roller-carrying portions are presented in an oppositedirection to the rollercarrying portion of the first-mentioned rod. Mounted on each of the roller-carry n DOrtions, at their inner extremities, are stop washers 2!.

Rotatably mounted on each of the-roller-carrying portions are preferably three spaced rollers 22. The rollers'may be formed of wood, or other suitable material, and, as best seen in Figure 3 of the drawing, the outermost roller of each set of rollers isprovided with a recess 23.. A: washer 24 surrounds the outer. threaded end por-..

tion of theroller-carrying portion IQ'and overlying the washer and screwed on. said threaded end portion is a cap-nut 25. As will be observed, the rollers are slightly spaced apart and are permitted of free rotationonthe roller-carrying portions.- preferably rubbertire 26 which iszcircularin cross section and has substantially half its circumference embedded in a hemispherical groove formed on the roller, the tire will thereby :belim-r.

ited from displacement from the roller. mounting the ,cap .nut 25 within therecess 23 of the outermost roller, the end'iof-the shaft is largely prevented from coming in contact with the bare skin. It is pointed-out. in this connec--. tion that the outermost rollers are mounted atthe widest and lowest point possible and their outside surfaces .areso-arranged that free'action of said rollers will be facilitated, this being particularly true when said rollers are embedded into soft skin tissues.

In use, when it is desired to massage a given portion of the'body the device is grasped with the hands on the handles l0 and II.

then be rotated on'the surface of the skin whereby the skin will be massaged and a very healthy condition, created. It is particularly emphasized that, as the sets of rollers are mounted in such a manner, each set is disposed. in angular relation to each other set 'and'to the body, the tissues will be massaged in a highly efiicient manner ina relatively short time. When the device is rolled over the skin in a direction longitudinally' of the body l,.theiforward group of rollers will spread the skin tissues fromthe center of the device and the rear group of rollers will draw the tissues inwardly toward the center of the device. It'will, therefore, be seen that the tissueswill be kneaded upwardly from the'surface of the skin. It"will, of

course, be understood that-when the device Carried on each; of therollers is a.

The device is, then engaged with the skinwand the device may.

pulled rearwardly in the opposite direction longitudinally of the body, the operation will be reversed. That is tosay, the rear rollers will first spread the tissues and the forward rollers, now at the rear of the device, will draw the tissues inwardly and upwardly for the kneading operation.

It is emphasized that irrespective of whether the device is moved longitudinally of the body, or in any other direction, the forward rollers, thev planes of which define an obtuse angle, will force the tissues to each'side from the center,- while the following rollers will force the tissues back again toward the center of the device. A thorough massage will thereby be created. In view of the fact that the rollers are set at opposite angles, the tissues will .be manipulated in a cries-cross like manner. 5

. 1 lf-;desired,;the; device may be used with an oscillatory motion. When the massage is done in this-manner, the rollers are first pressed into the tissues of the skin and the handle is turned about the axis of the bolt [2 for afraction of arotation and then the turn'is reversed. The first freetional turn will vigorousl massage the tissues and as the handle is rotated" in the opposite direction the tissues will be gently manipulated.

The bar 9 is so mounted on the body' I that the handles 1 0 and I I will be disposed close to the body so that as the device is being used, danger of tippingthe device end-over-endwill be prevented. When a completelyrotatable massage device is required it isonly necessary to remove the handle bar and attach a shaft, or the like, for providing rotatable motion to the device. While I have shownthreerollers comprising each setof rollers,

it should be understood that any number of roll.

ers desired maybe'employed.

In view of the fact that the rods are provided at their central portion with the locking lips -20,

displacement. of the rollerecarrying portions and.

rollers from thedesiredangular relations will be prevented. The brace 4 will cooperatewith the.

bodyifor preventing spreading of the body an consequentdisplacementof the rollers. It-is believed that a reading of the foregoing description will render; the; construction and operation of the device very clear and it is also be-- lieved that I have provided a simple andhighly efiicient message device which will, if. properly handled, very efiectually permit an efiective mass saging operation.

Having-thus described my invention, I claimr .1 l. A massage.deviceincluding' a dome, shaped body having loops at opposite. portions, a brace extending between the opposed portions of the 1 body. and having. upwardlysextending' ears at its ends engaging-about said loops and fastenedupon the outer faceof the body forfirmly'securing the body and brace to each other and forming a unitarystructure, rods extending through 's'aid loopsand having roller-carrying portions'projecting from ends of the loops, rollers carried by said roller carrying portions of said rods, and a harrdle carried by's'aid body." v w 2. A massage device including a'domeshape'd portions bent inwardly and upwardlyf to form loops, a brace extending between the opposed portions of said body and having ends bent'upwardl'y about theloops and disposed fiat against the outer face of the body, removable fasteners passed through the tongues and bent ends of said brace, rods extending through said loops and having end portions extending from ends of the loops and bent to provide roller-carrying portions, and masbody of sheet metal. having tongues at opposite V Sage rollers carried by the roller carrying portions of said rods and rotatable thereon.

3. A massage device including a. body having bearings extending transversely of the body and having upper portions gradually reduced in diameter, rods having their intermediate portions extending through said bearings and having radially extending lips engaged in the reduced upper'portions of the bearings to prevent turning of the rods in the bearings, said rods having their end portions extending from ends of the bearings and bent to provide diagonally disposed roller-carrying portions, and rollers carried by the extended end portions of said rods.

AUGUST F. LUZZI. [L. 5.] 

